1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a receptacle for the storage and retrieval of plastic shopping bags, as well as for a variety of other, different types of articles. In particular, the present invention relates to an attractive, easy to use receptacle having the shape of a human or animal doll figure which is capable of easily receiving and/or dispensing a variety of articles, including plastic shopping bags, pajamas or other clothing items, diapers, rolls of toilet paper, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is presently common practice for grocery stores, among other types of stores, to utilize small plastic bags for the purpose of bagging customers' purchases upon checkout instead of the large, brown paper bags used in the past. Presumably, store owners follow this practice because plastic bags are less expensive than paper bags, especially given the rising costs of paper, and are thought to be more convenient to carry. Consequently, many people accumulate these plastic shopping bags and some find other uses for them such as for lining small trash cans, disposing of cat litter, etc. Unfortunately, it has become public knowledge that when plastic shopping bags are disposed of, they typically end up in a garbage dump where they do not disintegrate rapidly, unlike paper bags. Rather, plastic bags take years upon years to decompose and in many cases, choke out sunlight to soil, plant life, etc. and in general, become hazardous to the environment. For these reasons, many supermarkets encourage the recycling of plastic shopping bags by offering recycling bins at store locations where customers can deposit used plastic shopping bags instead of disposing of them, so as to avoid the environmental hazards associated therewith.
Those persons who return their plastic shopping bags for recycling usually tend to amass a large number of them before doing so. People generally store these accumulated plastic bags in a haphazard manner, for example, by folding or crumpling them and placing them in a drawer in the kitchen, thereby utilizing valuable storage area.
In addition to plastic shopping bags, though, there exists a wide variety of articles that are accumulated in the home. For many of these articles, it is convenient to keep several on hand for periodic and/or continuous use. However, for many such articles it would be unsightly to store them in an open, visible place, and consequently, valuable storage space in the home must be utilized in order to store such articles in an out-of-sight location. The variety of article types referred to can include clothing garments, such as pajamas or undergarments, and even diapers, wherein the utilization of a conventional laundry hamper is not convenient or desired. In addition, articles such as diapers require storage at a specific location so as to render them more accessible for repeated use throughout the day. Other articles of this type include toiletry type products, such as, but not limited to, rolls of toilet paper which are often stored in a somewhat stacked array, but almost never in an open, freely accessible location because of the unsightliness or unattractiveness of such products.
As a result, there is a need in the art for a suitably convenient means for storing plastic shopping bags, as well as a variety of different articles, for subsequent use. There is also a need in the art to provide an attractive appearance to any such means for storing a variety of articles in a manner which will not take up conventional storage space. Such a preferred, receptacle should not only be attractive but be structured so as to facilitate convenient dispensing of the stored articles, when such is desired. For instance, it is generally recognized that decorative figures such as dolls appeal to many people, primarily women and children. While the related art generally discloses receptacles or article holders combined with decorative figures, it is believed that no such decorative figures exist in combination with a receptacle structured to have sufficient versatility for storing plastic shopping bags, as well as a large variety of other, different types of articles.